A hospital in Tokyo said Monday that it stands ready to conduct preventive mastectomies and that several women have undergone the operation there in the past after developing cancer in one breast.
St. Luke's International Hospital said its ethics committee approved preventive mastectomy procedures in July 2011, allowing women who tested positive in genetic screening for breast cancer after finding the disease in one breast to opt for removal of the other.
The hospital made the announcement after American actress Angelina Jolie, 37, said last week that she decided to have a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer after a faulty gene was found.